Johnson & Johnson and Distributors Finalize Landmark $26 Billion Opioid Settlement

(Camden, N.J.) — Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors finalized nationwide settlements over their role in the opioid addiction crisis Friday, an announcement that clears the way for $26 billion to flow to nearly every state and local government in the U.S. Taken together, the settlements are the largest to date among the many opioid-related cases that have been playing out across the country. They’re expected to provide a significant boost to efforts aimed at reversing the crisis in places that have been devastated by it, including many parts of rural America. Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson announced the settlement plan last year, but the deal was contingent on getting participation from a critical mass of state and local governments. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Friday was the deadline for the companies to announce whether they felt enough governments had committed to participate in the settlement and relinquish the right to sue. The four companies notified lawyers for the governments in the case that their thresholds were met, meaning money could start flowing to communities by April. “We’re never going to have enough money to immediately cure this problem,” said Joe Rice, one of the lead lawyers who represented local governments in the litigation that led to the settlement. “What we’re trying to do is give a lot of small communities a chance to try to ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Addiction Drugs healthscienceclimate News Desk wire Source Type: news